


will you call my name

by wolfpacklove



Category: Pitch Perfect (2012)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Drama, Drunk Sex, Explicit Language, F/M, Jealousy, Minor Injuries, Minor Violence, Non-Explicit Sex, Post-Movie(s), Romance, Sexual Tension, Underage Drinking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-04-11
Updated: 2013-04-11
Packaged: 2017-12-08 03:34:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,946
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/756547
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wolfpacklove/pseuds/wolfpacklove
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Beca and Jesse don’t get together immediately after nationals like everyone expects.  They do this thing where they dance around each other for months.  They’ll hang out more and more and be almost to the dating phase and suddenly he’ll get clingy and she’ll freak out or she’ll just do something stupid and they’ll fight and start all over again.</p>
<p>One of those times that Beca does something stupid.  Except this time, it's make or break for them.</p>
            </blockquote>





	will you call my name

**Author's Note:**

> This has been sitting on my hard drive for months and it's time to LET IT GO, IT'S A BIG FIC NOW AND IT CAN FLY ON ITS OWN
> 
> I do not own Pitch Perfect. But I bought a copy for my bestie for Christmas.

Beca and Jesse don’t get together immediately after nationals like everyone expects. They do this thing where they dance around each other for months. They’ll hang out more and more and be almost to the dating phase and suddenly he’ll get clingy and she’ll freak out or she’ll just do something stupid and they’ll fight and start all over again. It’s exhausting to watch, according to Chloe, who tells her once (while inebriated) to “jump up on that aca-cock.” Beca just shakes her head, lips pursed, and goes to talk to Fat Amy.

They’d just had a fight maybe a week ago, so when Luke asks her to a show one evening, Beca can say yes with a (mostly) clear conscience. Jesse glares at him; Luke catches it and smirks back, while she just pointedly ignores him.

It’s a little awkward at first, especially the ride over; she can’t stop thinking about the look on Jesse’s face when they left. But then he brings her a beer and they start talking music and she immediately opens up. By the time the show is over and he asks her to hang out at his place for a while, she’s had a few more beers and all she can think about is that washboard stomach.

They take a cab. He plants his hand on her knee. She raises her eyebrows slightly at him - a challenge? He takes it as such and his hand glides up her thigh and slowly, slowly, there. Beca twitches a little and her legs spread, just barely. His smile is predatory as he teases her through her jeans. One hand clenches the edge of the seat, and the other sneaks over to his lap to palm him.

He gives the driver a considerable tip for dealing with their little exhibition, then they take the show upstairs. As soon as the door is shut, she’s up against the wall and his mouth is on hers. One leg comes up to his waist, his hand catches it, then the other leg, and he carries her to the bed – unmade and smelling vaguely of fabric softener. Their clothes are off within seconds and when they fuck, Jesse’s face flashes in her head – first the face he made when she left with Luke, then Luke’s face is replaced by Jesse’s and in what will feel like a twisted perverse fantasy in the morning, she’s fucking Jesse, not Luke.

When she wakes up the next morning, Luke is spooning her. It’d be sweet if his morning wood wasn’t prodding her uncomfortably. Her first thought is oh my God, this is going to make work awkward. Then – shit. Jesse. She reaches for her phone, nearly dead but still functional, and texts him. Then she writes a sticky note for Luke, places it gently on his forehead and slinks out, thankful that it’s early enough that no one can see her walk of shame.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Jesse jerks awake when his phone blasts in his face. He blinks several times, then attends to his phone.

From: Becs

“I’m sorry jesse. Can we talk today?”

His heart stutters when he sees the sender, then he immediately realizes something is wrong when she actually apologizes in the message. He responds right away in any case. “Yea, noon at our coffee shop?” It takes less than a minute for her to reply, and it’s just a short “fine with me.”

He runs a hand through his hair with a sigh and starts when Benji speaks, voice heavy with sleep. “You okay?”

“Yeah. Just been fighting with Beca. She says she wants to talk.”

“That’s never good.”

“Yeah. I know.”

“I would normally pull a flower out of my cape and tell you to give it to her, but I sleep in the nude, so…”

“Yeah Benj. I know that too, but thanks for reminding me.”

“You could still get her flowers. But, you know, real ones.”

“Maybe I will.” He sighs again and throws his blanket off; no way he’s getting back to sleep now, so may as well get up and face the day. “Wanna get breakfast?”

Benji’s face lights up. “Sure. Just-”

“Yeah, turning around.” He smiles wryly at his roommate and turns to his closet, pulling out the shirt Beca once sheepishly admitted shows off his biceps.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

The bell on the door tinkles as Beca walks into the coffee shop, head down and shoulders tense, five minutes past twelve. Jesse is slumped in a booth sipping at his coffee, watching her carefully as she slides in across from him. There’s an awkward silence; she refuses to meet his eyes and finally they both speak at once.

“I’m sorry for what I said.”

“I slept with Luke.”

Jesse’s jaw drops. “What – are you serious?” She studies her fingernails and just barely nods. He coughs. “I don’t know why you’re telling me this.” He takes a long gulp of coffee, hands shaking, and burns his mouth.

Beca looks up at him and grabs for his hand. He pulls away. “Because I made a mistake. I didn’t realize until it was happening, but –”

“Beca, stop.” She gnaws at her lip nervously, peeking through her eyelashes at him. There’s an ache in his chest as a series of images flashes through his head –Luke kissing Beca’s neck, her eyes closed and mouth open in a sensual sigh. Luke towering over her, grabbing her ass. Luke on top of her, thrusting – “I don’t care. We’re not – we’re not a thing, okay.”

She lowers her eyes to his cup and his hands. They’re still shaking. “I guess I just thought –”

“You thought wrong.” He stands abruptly, shrugging his jacket on. “See you at the station.”

Beca’s eyes follow him through the door and across the street, then she tears them away to look at her phone and the text from Luke. “Last night was fun… do it again sometime?” She puts it away again without answering and walks out of the coffee shop.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

“Are you serious?”

“Dixie chicks serious,” Beca tells the various Bellas gathered around her in the rehearsal space, running a hand down her face. Aubrey blinks at the blatant mockery.

“Well was he any good?” Everyone stares at Fat Amy. “What? Have you seen him? I had to ask.” Stacie nods in agreement.

“The point is, now Jesse won’t talk to me and I don’t know what to do.”

Chloe puts a hand on her knee. “Don’t worry, Beca, he’ll come around.”

“It’s not like he can hold it against you. You’re not dating,” Cynthia Rose adds.

Aubrey smiles at her. “This is just a speed bump. Everyone knows you two are going to end up together sooner or later.”

“So what do I do?” Beca asks quietly.

“Just make nice until he calms down,” Aubrey answers.

“And stay away from Luke,” Chloe adds.

“And dress extra sexy around him,” Fat Amy grins.

“That’s actually not a bad idea,” Chloe says.

Aubrey shakes her head. “That could backfire if Luke is around too.”

“Give him a day or two and then make some big romantic gesture,” Cynthia Rose suggests.

“Okay, so… be super nice, avoid Luke, dress sexy except around Luke, and do something romantic?” They nod. “I’m not good at any of that. But thanks guys.” They start talking again, all at once, and Beca cuts in. “Let’s just get back to practicing, okay? I don’t want to think about it anymore.”

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

“So she slept with your boss.”

“Yeah.”

“So?”

Jesse nearly drops his guitar and stares at Benji. “What do you mean so?”

Benji shoves another sword into his box. “Well I know it hurt your feelings and all but it’s not like you’re with her.”

“Yeah but I thought we were on our way there. She knows I’m into her and I know she’s into me, it just hasn’t… happened yet. And why Luke? I hate that asshole.”

“I know. All I’m saying is you can’t be mad about this. You haven’t exactly staked your claim on her.”

“Damn it Benj, why do you have to be reasonable at a time like this?” Benji shrugs and climbs into his box as Jesse strums the guitar, faintly humming Titanium.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

The next time Beca and Jesse see each other is two days later, at their radio shift. Unfortunately that means Luke is there too. She’s only spoken to Luke in the form of monosyllabic answers to his nonstop questions and requests, and Jesse gets a smug satisfaction at his growing frustration. Finally –

“Jesse, do me a solid and grab us some lunch.”

Jesse glares at him. Luke smirks. Beca’s eyes shift from Jesse to Luke to Jesse’s clenching fists and she makes a hasty decision. “Hey Luke, actually, let’s me and you go and we can bring Jesse back something.” She’s not looking at him though – she’s looking at Jesse, pleading him with her eyes to understand that she’s just trying to avoid a fight. From the look on his face he’s not getting it.

When they get back, Jesse refuses to look at her at all, and finally he leaves with a sharp “I can’t deal with this right now.” Beca looks at him in shock as he walks out.

“Well. What crawled up his ass and died,” says Luke smugly.

“Fuck you Luke,” she says, grabbing her things and running after Jesse.

Luke barely bites back the sarcastic “already did,” and almost, almost feels bad.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Beca isn’t fast enough to catch Jesse, so she goes to his room instead. Benji answers, and her heart drops.

“Hey, Benji. Is Jesse here?”

“No, I thought he was at the station with you.”

“Yeah, that didn’t go so well.” She shifts her weight awkwardly from her left foot to her right foot and back. “Could I, uh. Would it bother you if I waited here for him? I really need to talk to him.”

Benji opens the door wider, his cape whirling behind him. She goes straight to Jesse’s bed and sits, holding her knees to her chest.

“So did you really sleep with Luke?”

She looks at him, confused. “He told you?”

“Yeah.” He pulls a flower from god-knows-where with a flourish. She smiles slightly and takes it with a quiet “thanks.” “Wanna talk about it?” he asks, sitting across from her on his own bed.

“About having sex with Luke?”

“I was thinking more along the lines of the aftermath, but if you really want to, I suppose…”

“No. Aftermath is good.” Benji grins. “It was a mistake. I was drunk.”

“You told him that?”

“Yeah, I did. I honestly regret it and I hate that he’s mad at me. I’m afraid I’ve fucked us up for good this time.”

“So what happened today?”

Beca tells him about the incident at the radio station. “I was just trying to keep them from fighting – I mean have you seen Luke? It wouldn’t have ended well for Jesse.” She sighs, twirling the flower in her fingers. “Do you think I fucked everything up?”

“No.” Beca looks at him, a glimmer of cautious hope in her eyes. “He’s not happy, obviously. But we had a talk the other day, and I think you two can work it out. Now, smile, or I’ll do magic for you.” She wrinkles her nose – she hates magic – then smiles a small, careful smile. “Why don’t you put on a movie or something until he gets back.”

She does, and by the time Jesse comes back, she’s watched two Harry Potter films and eaten three bags of popcorn by herself. She jumps up as she hears the keys enter the lock. A look of hurt comes over Jesse’s face when he sees her and he immediately turns to walk out again. Beca goes to stop him, but it’s Benji that speaks.

“Jesse, stop.” Jesse blinks at him, but stops mid-turn. “You two, talk. I’ll be… elsewhere.” Benji slips out past Jesse and shuts the door quietly behind him.

Beca starts talking immediately. “Jesse, about today –”

“No, let me talk first.” He sits on Benji’s bed, elbows resting on his knees as he stares at her. “Look – I know we aren’t a thing, okay. But it still hurts like hell to know you slept with someone else – especially Luke – when we both know how we feel about one another. So maybe it’s not fair for me to be mad at you, but I still am.”

Beca waits a second to make sure he’s finished before she responds. “I know. I fucked up. And I can’t tell you how sorry I am. And today – look, I didn’t want to go to lunch with Luke. I’ve barely spoken to him since it happened and believe me, it’s going to stay that way. I just – you looked like you were about to pummel him and I was trying to avoid an altercation.”

“I can handle myself, Beca.”

“I know you can. I just – it’d be better if we avoided workplace drama I guess.” He snorts – too late for that – and they sit awkwardly in silence for a long minute. She suddenly feels a lot like a stranger in his room, intruding on his personal space, and she stands. “I guess I’ll just go.”

Jesse stands too, and opens the door for her. She’s just crossing the threshold when he speaks again. “Beca.” She looks back, hopeful. “I think… I just need a little time to think. But this, whatever it is, it isn’t over. I haven’t given up yet.”

She smiles, the first genuine smile since all this went down. “Thank you,” she mutters, and presses a soft kiss to his cheek. Jesse feels his heart thump-thump-thump a little harder in his chest as he watches her go; then he grabs his keys, leaves a note for Benji, and leaves.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Jesse storms into the radio station just fifteen minutes later and immediately recognizes one of Beca’s mixes. Is this guy for real? he thinks to himself, then focuses on the problem at hand.

“Luke! Get out here, we need to talk.”

Luke steps out of the booth and approaches Jesse. “Yeah we do – you didn’t finish your shift today, that was incredibly unprofessional.”

Jesse smiles - and decks him.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

An hour later, Beca wakes from a nap to loud banging. She looks immediately out of the window, expecting to see storm clouds or fireworks, then the banging starts again – someone is at her door. She slides into her sweats and stumbles to the door. Jesse is leaning on the doorframe, looking exhausted.

“Jesus, Jesse, I thought you were the cops – what the hell happened to you?” She notes a rapidly swelling eye and a cut lip. He doesn’t answer, just kisses her hard on the mouth, hands on either side of her face – then he hisses and pulls away.

“Fuck.”

“Jesse, what did you do?” Beca asks, voice quiet and a little scared as she guides him to her desk chair and pulls out a first aid kit. “Did you go after Luke?” He nods. “At least tell me he looks worse than you.”

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure I broke his nose,” Jesse smirks.

She finishes wiping the blood from his face. “Well, that’s good I guess. I think I have some ice for your eye –”

“I didn’t come here for you to take care of me, Beca.”

She nods, barely noticeable. “I know.”

“I want us to be a thing.”

Beca’s eyes look like moons before she reins it in. “Is that your way of asking me out?”

“Yeah.”

“Even though I –”

“Yeah, even though you,” he grins – and their lips crash together. “So you want this too, right,” Jesse murmurs against her lips in between kisses.

“Yes, you have no idea, Jesse.”

He’s at second base when the door creaks open and Kimmy Jin walks in. They don’t even notice until she clears her throat – twice.

“Oh, hey, Kimmy Jin,” Beca breathes.

“Hello, white girl.”

“We’ll, uh, just take this elsewhere.”

Kimmy Jin mutters a “thanks” at their backs as Jesse leads Beca down the hall.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Jesse and Beca make their way slowly across the quad to his residence hall. 

“So we’re really going to do this,” Beca says quietly.

“Yeah. We are.” He looks down at her, then he stops walking. Beca turns to face him.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.” A grin splits his face. “Do you remember this place?”

“It’s a sidewalk...?” she answers.

“Here, let me help.” He takes a deep breath, then... “CARRY ON MY WAYWARD SOOOOON, THERE’LL BE PEACE WHEN YOU ARE DONE,” he belts out at the top of his lungs. 

Beca quickly slaps a hand over his mouth. “What the hell is your problem?” she demands, but she’s smiling too. She suddenly feels a wet something on her hand - a tongue? She rips her hand away. “Gross! How old are you, five?!”

“LAY YOUR WEARY HEAD TO REEEEEST, DON’T YOU CRY NO MORE, NO!” He launches into an air guitar solo, and finally Beca throws her arms around his neck and kisses him, just to shut him up. It’s suddenly silent as she moves her lips against his, and it turns into this long, slow, gentle thing, all care and passion and what she thinks might turn into love, if she lets it. She will, she decides.

They pull apart, just as slow. Beca bites her lip, unsure of what to do next, but Jesse takes care of that.

“Come on, let’s go to my room, maybe Benji will still be gone.”  
Beca’s smile is nearly as wide as his.


End file.
